Marist loses Windy City consolation final in double OTRedHawks have their chances but fall 1-0 to LWCBy Steve Millar

BURBANK - For Marist coach Chris Roe, the result was disappointing, but the performance encouraging.

The RedHawks controlled much of Saturday’s Windy City Ram Classic consolation championship against Lincoln-Way Central, but could not convert on a myriad of scoring chances.

That ultimately came back to haunt them as Knights’ sophomore Megan Andjelic scored with a second left in the first overtime to lift Central to a 1-0 win at Reavis.

“We were all over them,” Roe said. “We just couldn’t put one in. Soccer is funny sometimes. We had plenty of chances. This was a soccer game, by definition. You dominate and you lose 1-0.”

Marist (3-2-0) saw its three-match winning streak snapped and gave up a goal for the first time since its season- and tournament-opening loss to Lincoln-Way West.

It came as a result of a failure to mark Andjelic on a corner kick. Lauren Limpin’s cross found Andjelic at the top of the box, and she ripped a shot that went off the bottom of the crossbar and came down just beyond the goal line.

After a brief hesitation, the referees ruled it a goal.

“It was tough for it to end like that,” Marist junior Serenity Rosa said. “We tried our best and it just didn’t go our way.”

Andjelic, Chicagoland Soccer’s MVP of the Match, was happy to get a favorable bounce for once.

“I always hit the crossbar,” she said. “It was good to finally get one in. It felt great. We deserved this win as a team.

“When we lost the first game of the tournament, we just wanted to come back stronger. We came back and started winning.”

The Knights (4-2-0) got five saves from Peyton Vecchiet, who recorded her fourth shutout of the season.

“Sarah (Heimberg), Megan (Lucchetti)and Kailie (Novak) did a great job in the back,” Lincoln-Way Central coach Dan Radz said. “We stuck with those three in the back so we could beef up the midfield a little bit.

“Even when Kailie got hurt (late in the first half), the kids held strong. Marist is a good team so this was a big win for us.”

All five of Marist’s shots on goal came in the second half as the RedHawks took control after a slow start.

Rosa, especially, created problems for the Knights’ defense.

Six minutes into the second half, she beat a defender down the right side of the field and crossed past another into the center of the box, but a charging Vecchiet was able to block Rosa’s shot with her body.

That was the most difficult save Vecchiet would have to make, but the RedHawks continued to test her the rest of the way.

With 16 minutes to go, Rosa made a nice pass to set up Amanda Rizzo in the box. Rizzo’s shot was deflected wide by a Knights defender.

Rizzo, a junior midfielder, came off the bench and earned praise from Roe.

“Amanda Rizzo came in and started controlling the field,” he said. “She was getting the ball on her feet and holding on to it. She helped us generate a lot of chances.”

Callaghan had another chance on a free kick from 25 yards, but fired wide with 7:20 to go in regulation.

The Knights, meanwhile, were held to one shot on goal in the second half. After Central earned three corner kicks and two free kicks from striking distance in the first half, they got none of either in the second half.

“Our defense has been solid,” Roe said. “They’re playing strong. I’ve got to hand it to them. We lost basically our entire starting defense, and I couldn’t ask them to play any better.”

Megan Kirkwood, Sheila O’Keeffe and Michelle Lenz had big performances on the back line for Marist.

“We moved Megan to stopper this game,” Roe said. “She’s getting better and better every game. I couldn’t be prouder of her.”

After Andjelic’s goal, the RedHawks still had a second five-minute overtime period to try to fight back. It was those final five minutes that distressed Roe the most.

“I was upset because after the goal, I thought they kind of folded,” he said. “Overall, though, they’ve been working really hard.

“We lost a couple starters (Amaya Knoll and Sophia Perez, to knee injuries) and it’s been a constant cycle of trying to fit players in right spots. If we can just find that goal-scorer, we’ll be in good shape.”

Marist doesn’t have much time to recover. The RedHawks host a strong Sandburg squad Monday and Windy City Ram Classic runner-up Andrew on Wednesday before traveling Friday to Hinsdale South.

“Sandburg is a team we want on the schedule every year,” Roe said. “That’s always a great test for us. Andrew is playing at a high level right now and then Hinsdale South is a tough game.

“It’s a big week. The girls have to be ready.”

Rosa thinks they will be.

“I feel like this game was a learning experience, and we’re going to grow from it,” she said. “We’ve just got to keep working. We’re going to come back hungrier after this loss.”